Dietitians:: An Analysis of Personality Characteristics and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between personality characteristics and job satisfaction among administrative and clinical/community dietitians. Relationships were studied among the personality traits: autonomy, affiliation, achievement, dominance, and nurturance, as measured by the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule and the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) job satisfaction subscales: ‘work itself’, ‘pay’, ‘opportunities for promotion’, ‘coworkers’, ‘supervision’, and the ‘job in general’.The study sample consisted of 127 graduates from the Coordinated Program in Dietetics (CPD) within the Department of Food and Nutrition at North Dakota State University. One hundred twenty-seven JDI surveys were mailed with a return response rate of 56% (n=71) and a usable rate of 46% (n=59).The results of the JDI indicated that the respondent median JDI scores fell below the 50th percentile ranking in most job satisfaction subscales, when compared to established national norms. The respondents were most satisfied with their job overall (JIG) and least satisfied with ‘opportunities for promotion’ and ‘pay’ at work.Analysis of personality traits of more satisfied and less satisfied dietetic subgroups did not support a relationship between job satisfaction and personality characteristics. The only instance of significance was that administrators, less satisfied with their ‘coworkers’, had higher affiliation traits than their more satisfied counterparts. Despite the small sample size of this study, personality traits would appear to play a minimal role in job satisfaction within dietetics.